


On Visiting

by Tyrelingkitten



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Family, Gen, One Shot, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-26 21:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7591420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrelingkitten/pseuds/Tyrelingkitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kei visits his brother in Sendai. Slice-of-life one shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Visiting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ColonelChanSan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColonelChanSan/gifts).



> Dear recipient, I hope you'll enjoy this as I much as I have when the story finally took shape.

Kei rolled his shoulders to stop himself from slouching against the pillar and straightened when he remembered he had a backpack. He reached a hand behind to check if he had squished his bag against the pillar.

 

When he decided his bag was still intact, he sighed in relief and carefully slid the bag off his shoulders, setting it beside his feet. The bag had weighed heavily down his back, forcing him into an awkward stance that strained his neck.

 

He shouldn't have listened to his mom when she told him to bring containers of food on his trip. She had tried to shove so many containers into his bag that the zipper couldn’t close. Even though it’s not like his brother needs to stock up on pickles and croquettes.

 

With the extra weight gone, Kei rubbed his shoulders to relieve the pain. It didn’t help that his muscles were a still little sore from yesterday’s practice. He could still feel the sting of pain where he had stretched too far trying to block a frontal attack, nearly pulling a muscle.

 

Kei glanced at his phone screen to check for any incoming messages or a missed call.

 

Nothing.

 

Five minutes had passed since he had disembarked from the train to wait at the exit.

 

Five minutes were too long to stand here waiting, carrying so much pre-packed food that could probably last a month.

 

Kei had assumed his brother would be here by now. Did his brother get caught up somewhere in traffic?

 

Sliding a thumb across the phone screen, Kei opened the last call session to his brother and pressed the green call button.   

 

"Kei!"

 

He started at the sound of his name and looked up to see his brother running down the stairs, still wearing his business suit all wrinkled with his tie hanging loose around his neck.

 

Cutting off the call, Kei pushed his phone back into his pocket as Akiteru reached him.

 

“Sorry I’m late.” Akiteru wheezed, leaning over on his knees to catch his breath. “Had to do some overtime today.”

 

“I hope you’re getting paid for that,” Kei muttered, and heaved the bag straps over his shoulders. “I was about to head over to your place myself.”

 

Akiteru only laughed, straightening himself as he pointed to the backpack. “Is that your overnight bag?”

 

“No. Just food mom wanted me to give you.”

 

“Oh. Then where are your clothes?”

 

Kei looked down at the other bag beside him.

 

“Let me take that.” Akiteru scooped up the handles of the bag with one hand and motioned to the exit. “Let’s go. Huh, so light.” Akiteru held the bag up in the air. “Did you bring enough for your trip? Never mind, I’ll lend you some of my clothes.”

 

Keii scrunched his face. “We’re not even the same size.”

 

“Not yet, at least.” Akiteru laughed. “But since you shot up so high in less than a year.” Akiteru measured his free hand the space between his head with Kei’s to demonstrate his point. “Maybe you will fit into my clothes just right. I think I might have some with dinosaur prints.”

 

“Really though?” Kei raised his eyebrows at his brother. “Dinosaurs?”

 

“Don’t give me that look. I know you still like them. Come on! We’re going to miss the bus.”  

 

“You’re the one keeping us here.” Kei grumbled as soon as Akiteru had his back to him.

 

Akiteru looked over his shoulder. “Hm? Did you say something, Kei?”

 

Kei turned his head away. “Nothing.”  

 

Akiteru led them towards the nearest bus stop and plopped down on the empty bench with a sigh. He looked at Kei expectantly, patting the space beside him, smiling.

 

“Have you eaten anything this morning?”

 

“A little.” Kei admitted as he settled beside his brother. “Just some pork buns I brought along the way.”

 

"Doesn’t seem like they’re enough. You’re probably starving at this point.”

 

Kei flushed. “Two buns can usually fill my stomach. I don’t know why they’re not enough for such a short trip.” Kei said in annoyance. “They made the buns smaller this time. With less filling.”

 

Akiteru clapped a hand on Kei’s shoulder. “Then let’s go find some food. I know the right place to get a big meal.”

 

"Aren't we going to eat mom's food?"

 

“Nope. That’s for later.”

 

“It better not be Wacdonalds.“

 

“I promise it’s not. Look! Let me show you some pics.” Akiteru pulled out his phone, quickly unlocked the screen and tapped a few times to get into his gallery. “This is the _yakisoba_ I had last week. And this one is the _miso ramen_ special last night.”

 

When the bus arrived, Akiteru was still showing Kei his collection of food pictures, pictures of not only lunch, but breakfast at family restaurants and desserts in coffee shops as well, including festival snacks Akiteru had eaten with former classmates.

 

“It wasn’t a date!”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Really! It wasn’t!”

 

“I believe you.”

 

“Not with that face.”

 

“Aren’t we getting on?” Kei interrupted, gesturing to the bus.

 

Akiteru shot up from his seat. “Yes, yes, let’s go drop off your cargo and then we’ll get something to eat.”  

 

Once they drop off Kei’s bags at the apartment, Akiteru gave Kei a quick tour around the block to the nearest convenience store, department store, the 100-yen shop and family restaurants Akiteru liked to frequent.

 

The place Akiteru had decided on getting lunch was less than five minute walk from his apartment, in the middle of small bustling eateries. Attached to the wall was a small fan making loud whirring sounds as it turned left and right, feebly trying to blow wind around the small shop. The sharp sting of pepper sauce still hung in the air when they entered the shop, making Kei sneeze twice.

 

Akiteru greeted the owner by name, sitting down on the provided bench as he exchanged pleasantries with the owner, while Kei took a seat beside his brother.

 

Akiteru ordered for them both, the _soba_ special menu that was apparently part of a secret menu list only regulars knew of, and _[ramune](https://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/asian-food/beverages/ramune-soda) _ to stave off their thirst.

 

While they waited for their food, Akiteru asked Kei about his life back in Miyagi, about his school results, about his friends, volleyball practice and his teammates. In turn, Kei’s answers were short and vague, and at times sarcastic. Despite that, Akiteru didn’t look perturbed. Compared to a few years ago, when Kei would ignore Akiteru and walk away without a word, headphones clamped over his ears, getting Kei to talk at all about his life back in Miyagi was already a step forward into the right direction.

 

“Where do you want to go after this? We have plenty of time to explore the museums and check out the new aquarium.” Akiteru blew at the steaming soba noodles in an attempt to cool them off before putting them into his mouth.   

 

Kei sampled his food slowly. “I’m not here to get a history lesson.”

 

“You’re not interested in _[Date Masamune](http://www.samurai-archives.com/masamune.html)_?” Akiteru looked at him in surprise. “When I first moved here, I went straight to _[Sendai City Museum](http://sendai-travel.jp/activities/sendai-city-museum/) _ and _[Zuihoden](http://sendai-travel.jp/places/zuihoden/)_. Took some pictures with Date Masamune on his horse.”

 

Kei shrugged. “Maybe some other time.”

 

“You only want to play volleyball then.” Akiteru teased.

 

Kei slurped his soup loud enough to pretend he hadn't heard his brother’s remark.

 

“There’s plenty of space to play volleyball around here. Especially at the university. Wanna play against my team, Kei?” Akiteru grinned, then jolted in his seat at the buzzing sound, and fished out the phone from his pocket to look at the screen.

 

“Oh.” Akiteru’s grin faltered when he glanced at Kei. “Sorry, I need to take this.” Without waiting for Kei’s response, Akiteru had already moved out of the _soba_ shop to pick up his call, greeting the caller in a low murmur.

 

The call took longer than expected. While his brother was talking seriously on the phone, Kei had already cleaned off his bowl of soba, idly checking his own phone to catch up on group chat messages.

 

Yachi was the first to post something today, a sketch of her new poster, asking for everyone’s feedback. Yamaguchi complimented on the composition and right after his comment, Ennoshita joined in to update them with the time and date of their new training week against Datekou. Nishinoya sent a string of sparkling emojis which either meant he was excited with the training week or he approved of the new poster. Tanaka joined in to add moving cat gifs. By the time Kei got to the end of the group chat, he was watching Kageyama and Hinata text-snipe at each other at every second and regretted sharing his mail address.

 

He made a mental note to give Yachi his response later. When the idiot duo were no longer spamming his inbox.

 

When Akiteru got back inside the shop, he looked disappointed. “Hey, Kei. Sorry, I need to get back to work. Something has come up.”

 

“It’s fine.” Kei said. “You can go now.”

 

His brother’s lips wobbled. “I’m sorry I can’t hang out with you more today, but I promise to free up my schedule tomorrow so we can play volleyball all day long with my team.”   

 

“It’s fine.” Kei repeated. “I’m going to look around first and then go back to the apartment.”

 

“You sure? Won’t you get lost? I can walk you to the station.”  

 

“No need. I’m not six anymore, _nii-chan_.” Kei sighed.

 

“All right. If you get lost or anything, call me, okay?”

 

“Just go! Jeez.”

 

“I’m going, I’m going.” Akiteru relented and then laid a few bills on the counter before heading off.

 

Once he could no longer see his brother’s back in the crowd, Kei slid off the bench and wandered around the eateries, checked out the department store and then the nearest park. Sendai was so crowded compared to back home.

 

After walking around for an hour, Kei grew bored and decided to head back to the apartment. By then, the afternoon sun had colored the skies in shades of red, yellow and purple and night has fallen. The first thing Kei did when he got back to the apartment was take out the containers of food from his backpack and store them away into the kitchen cabinets. He snooped around his brother’s deceptively clean apartment, flipping through books from the small bookshelf in the living-room and sneaking a peek at his brother’s desk that looked like the wind had blown everything into a state of disarray.

 

Kei spotted what looked like a roughly-drawn time table and realized it was supposed to be a detailed plan titled ‘ _PLACES TO BRING KEI_ ’ for the next two days.

 

 

\----

 

 

The next morning Kei peeked into the kitchen and was surprised to see his brother standing at the stove, wearing a pink apron and humming to the news jingles coming from his smartphone that was sitting on the kitchen island. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

 

“Perks of living on my own,” Akiteru said, grinning over his shoulder as he made a show flipping the pancake over. “Morning, Kei. Have a seat. Breakfast will be done soon.”

 

Kei struggled to look less impressed and gave up with a huff, “I was so sure you’d starve yourself and live off on ramen noodles, _nii-chan_.” He seated himself at the kitchen island, watching his brother turn the pancake over onto a plate beside the stove.

 

“I did that the first month. Live on cheap ramen, I mean.” Akiteru confessed. “Until I ran out of money and taught myself to cook. Mom helped of course.”

 

“Through the phone?”

 

“Yeah. My first lesson was how to cook an egg.” Akiteru laughed as he scooped the pancake mixture into the pan. “We’ve now upgraded my lessons through video calls instead. Mom said I’ve improved a lot.”

 

“Hmph. Was the egg even edible?” Kei’s eyes landed on the dirty bowls in the sink filled with remains of cracked egg shells and milk, and then they found a colorful cookbook laid spread open next to the drying dishes.

 

“Yes, it was. And now I’ve had enough practice to make _tamagoyaki_ myself _,_ you know.” Akiteru said proudly. “Even if they’re a little burned. Do you want some? I think I’ve some leftovers in the fridge,”

 

“No thanks.” Kei rested his cheek on his palm. “When did you get home last night? I didn’t hear you come in.”

 

Akiteru sighed. “I think a little after ten or nine. I almost missed the last bus. Did you sleep well? Was the futon too lumpy? You know you could’ve taken my bed last night. I wouldn’t have minded.”

 

“It’s fine. I slept okay.”

 

“Really, Kei. I really wouldn't have minded. With how hectic work has been lately, I can sleep anywhere at this point. I even fell asleep taking off my shoes last night.”

 

Kei frowned. “Shouldn’t you be in bed right now?”

 

“Nope! We’ve a whole day for ourselves. I don’t want to spoil your weekend by leaving you alone at home.”

 

Kei shifted uncomfortable in his seat. “So, what’s for breakfast?”

 

“Pancakes. They're so easy to make once you get hang of the pan.” Akiteru shut off the stove and washed his hands before taking the plate of pancakes to the dinner table.

 

Kei stared at the stack Akiteru had set before him. “You’ve made a lot.”

 

“Gotta eat well for breakfast, Kei. So what would you like on your pancake? Syrup? Ham? I’ve got some ice cream and strawberries in the fridge.” Akiteru tugged off the apron, bundled it into a ball and chucked it into the drawer underneath the sink. He grabbed the pancake syrup and jar of jam, turned around to grab the strawberries in the ziploc bag and joined Kei at the kitchen island.  

 

“If you can make my favorite food, then I’ll be impressed.” Kei reached for the strawberries and the cream.

 

“Is it still strawberry shortcake?”

 

“What if it is?” Kei grumbled.

 

“I’ll make you one today.”

 

“You will?” Kei didn’t bother to hide his amazement.

 

“Yes.” Akiteru grinned. “But I can’t guarantee it’s going to taste like strawberries. Maybe it will turn into mikan-flavored.”

 

“Figures.” Kei deflated, rolling his eyes. “Any plans for today?”

 

“None yet. But I’m sure we can arrange a volleyball meet-up at 4 in the afternoon. Most of my buddies have morning classes today. What do you have in mind?”

 

Kei was about to answer 'Nothing' when he remembered last night's discovery.

 

For once, Kei looked mischievous when he slid off the stool and went to grab the time table on his brother’s desk. “We can start with this one-- _[Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium](http://jpninfo.com/26614)_.”

 

“Oh.” Akiteru's eyes were wide in surprise and a blush had crawled up across his cheeks. “So you found out about it.”

 

“You weren’t even hiding it.”

 

“You… you still want to go, Kei?”

 

  
“Like I know any better place to go.”

 

 

 

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> * [Zuihoden, Sendai City Museum and Sendai Aquarium](http://sendai-travel.jp/) \- I've never gone to these places. This site and several travel blog sites (which I forgot to bookmark) were really helpful to fill in the overall view of how Sendai looks.  
> * [ramune](https://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/asian-food/beverages/ramune-soda) \- I've had it once. Interesting bubble experience.
> 
> In addition, I'm very grateful to aurics for beta-ing the finished draft, fixing the grammar and filling a plothole and cheering me on and being overall awesome. My thanks also goes to memorde, who looked through my first draft and cheering me on to climb over the hurdle of blank document staring right back at me.


End file.
